When Solomon died around 922 BC, his son Rehoboam became king. Shortly afterwards, the ten northern tribes rebelled against the king and formed their own kingdom. This period is known in the history of Israel as the Divided Kingdom.
The tribes of Judah and Benjamin in the south came to be known as the Kingdom of Judah (or the southern kingdom). The other tribes in the north formed the Kingdom of Israel (or the northern kingdom). Each kingdom had its own king. The kings of Judah were descendants of David, but in Israel the tribal and military leaders had to fight one another to become king. Sometimes one dynasty would rule for several years, only to be defeated by its rival, who would then rule for a short time.
The capital of Judah remained in Jerusalem, where the people of Judah continued to worship the Lord at the Temple. In Israel, King Jeroboam I built a shrine at Bethel so that the people could offer sacrifices there and would not have to go to the Temple in Jerusalem (1 Kings 12:25–33). Samaria subsequently became the capital of Israel (1 Kings 16:24–29).
In the northern kingdom (Israel), some leaders allowed the people to worship idols such as Baal, the Canaanite god. This practice was condemned by a number of prophets who proclaimed the word of God at that time. For example, the prophet Elijah spoke out against Ahab and his wife, Queen Jezebel, who openly encouraged the worship of Baal and supported the prophets of Baal (1 Kings 18:1 – 19:8).
The practice of allowing the people to worship other gods led to the downfall of Israel. There was a civil war between them and Judah, and they also fought with neighbouring nations such as Syria and Moab. Eventually, the Assyrians invaded Israel and attacked the capital, Samaria. In 722 BC the city was conquered and many Israelites were captured and taken to Assyria as captives. The rest remained in the region, living and sometimes marrying the people brought by the Assyrians to settle there. The Northern Kingdom never regained its sovereignty as a nation.
Meanwhile, Judah (the Southern Kingdom) in the south had its own problems. Although many of its kings, such as Hezekiah and, in particular, Josiah, were faithful to the Lord and followed the teachings of the Law (2 Kings 18:1–8, 22:1 – 23:25), a number of other kings, such as Manasseh, did things that provoked the Lord’s anger (2 Kings 21:1-18). Eventually, Judah was unable to defend itself against attacks from its powerful neighbours. The Babylonian Empire invaded and destroyed Jerusalem and the Temple in 587 BC. Many of the people of Judah were taken to Babylon as captives. For the next fifty years, this group of Israelites remained in Babylon and were unable to return to their own land. This period is known as the ‘Exile’.
*Source: Study Edition of the Bible
